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Clark Bishop, Alexandre Alain Clear Waivers

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January 1: Both players have cleared waivers. Alain’s contract can now be terminated.

December 31: Two more players have been placed on waivers today, though the reasoning is a bit different for each. Clark Bishop has been placed on regular waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, while Alexandre Alain of the Montreal Canadiens has hit unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination. Alain has decided to pursue full-time studies and reconsider his future in professional hockey. Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin released a glowing statement of the prospect, even if he is about to become an unrestricted free agent:

Alexandre embodies several values that are important to our team. Besides having an impeccable attitude and being a proud competitor, he is an excellent teammate appreciated by all. I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.

The 23-year-old Alain signed an entry-level contract in 2018 as an undrafted free agent and has spent the last two seasons playing with the Laval Rocket of the AHL. In 60 games last year, he recorded 11 goals and 24 points. His decision today may come as a surprise, but this is not the first time that academic achievement has been attached to Alain’s hockey career. In 2018, he won the QMJHL Scholastic Player of the year award and was given the Guy Lafleur Award of Excellence and Merit by the Canadiens, which is presented to amateur hockey players who best combine hockey performances and academic achievement.

Bishop meanwhile is a 24-year-old depth forward for the Hurricanes, who played five games at the NHL level last season but spent most of the year in the AHL. That’s likely where he’s headed once again, though the early waiver placement is interesting and could suggest that he has a chance to play overseas like Roland McKeown who cleared waivers today. At any rate, his chance of being a full-time player for the Hurricanes this season is low.

Roland McKeown Clears Waivers

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December 31: McKeown has cleared waivers and can continue to play overseas.

December 30: The march to the regular season continues, this time with the Carolina Hurricanes placing a depth defenseman on waivers. Roland McKeown finds himself there today, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, just a few days after signing his new one-year, two-way deal. McKeown has been loaned out to the SHL for the season and needed to clear waivers to remain overseas.

In a normal year, McKeown might be in danger of being claimed by a rebuilding team around the league. The 24-year-old defenseman has put up several successful seasons in the AHL after being a second-round pick in 2014, even spending ten games with the Hurricanes in 2017-18. In this unique campaign though, it seems unlikely that anyone would use a claim that would force him back from Sweden.

The fact that Carolina decided to send McKeown overseas in the first place is a bit ominous, at least when considering the AHL’s future. In the loan release, GM Don Waddell explained that it was “important that [McKeown] get back on the ice” even though he was a strong performer in the minor leagues. That suggests that there is still some doubt the AHL will get off the ground, at least not right away.

If that’s the case, he certainly won’t be the last player somewhere between prospect and depth that ends up on waivers. If a player requires waivers to play in the AHL, they’ll also need it to head overseas, as both are ways off the NHL roster. Those waiver placements would normally happen at the end of training camp in a regular season, but at least in McKeown’s case, the Hurricanes have decided to pull the trigger early in order to get him on the ice in the SHL.

Three Players Clear Waivers

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December 30: All three players have cleared waivers.

December 29: Another day, another minor league forward on waivers. The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed Calvin Thurkauf on waivers for the purpose of a loan to EV Zug in Switzerland for the remainder of the 2020-21 season. Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that Michael Carcone and Frederic Allard of the Nashville Predators have also been placed on waivers.

Thurkauf, 23, was a seventh-round pick of the Blue Jackets back in 2016 that slowly worked his way through the minor leagues and made his NHL debut last season. Though he failed to score a point in three games, even making it that far was an impressive accomplishment for the young Swiss forward. This year in 19 games with Zug EV, he has four points and will continue his development overseas should he clear tomorrow.

Carcone, 24, was only just acquired by the Predators earlier this month in a minor trade with the Ottawa Senators. The career minor leaguer had 27 points in 59 games with the Belleville Senators last season and is likely ticketed for the Milwaukee Admirals whenever the AHL season gets underway.

Allard meanwhile is already playing in Austria, where he will likely continue should he clear waivers. The 23-year-old defenseman has played three seasons for the Admirals but is still waiting for his first NHL opportunity. A third-round pick from 2016, he has three points in 11 games for EC VSV in the Austrian professional league this season.

Minor Transactions: 12/29/20

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Training camp is just a few days away and things are heating up in the hockey world. With waivers open and rosters being announced, minor transactions will come fast and furious all across the league. We’ll keep track of them right here.

  • Jordan Schmaltz will be attending training camp on a professional tryout with the Arizona Coyotes according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Schmaltz, 27, last played in the NHL during the 2018-19 season, suiting up for 20 games with the St. Louis Blues. The 25th overall pick in 2012, he was never able to really translate his game to the NHL level.
  • Speaking of the Blues, the team has announced that Alexei Toropchenko and Nikita Alexandrov have both been loaned overseas. Toropchenko will stay with Kunlun Red Star in the KHL where he has been playing, scoring eight points in 25 games so far this season. Alexandrov will head to KooKoo in Finland, where he will spend the season at the Liiga level. The Blues’ release notes that both players could be recalled when their European seasons end.
  • Spencer Abbott, who played two games at the NHL level before heading overseas, will continue his playing career in Germany during the upcoming season. The 32-year-old winger has signed in the DEL after spending the last two seasons playing in the SHL.
  • Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Gabriel Fortier has been traded in the QMJHL. The slick forward, in his final season of junior eligibility, has been moved by the Moncton Wildcats to the Shawinigan Cataractes, the team announced. The return is only a conditional pick, as Fortier could join the Lightning or more likely a minor league affiliate this season, in which case Shawinigan would get their pick back. If Tampa opts to return him to juniors though, then the Wildcats would receive at least a 2022 third-round pick but it could grow as high as a 2021 first-rounder depending on production. Fortier is no stranger to change after initially being acquired by Moncton midway through last season, only to finish the year with better than a point-per-game pace, earning the team’s captaincy to begin this year.
  • Defenseman Ty Murchison of the U.S. National Team Development Program has made his college choice. The young blue liner announced his commitment to Arizona State University today, continuing the program’s pipeline from California. The former L.A. Jr. King is a talented two-way defenseman who plays an aggressive style, currently leading the USNTDP U-18’s in penalty minutes. Murchison is expected to be a middle round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft before beginning his NCAA career next year.

Kalle Kossila, Jean-Sebastien Dea Clear Waivers

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December 29: Kossila and Dea have both cleared waivers.

December 28: Today is the first day for the playing season waiver period and two teams have already taken advantage of it. Kalle Kossila of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Jean-Sebastien Dea of the Buffalo Sabres have both been placed on waivers according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.

Kossila was recently loaned to EHC Munchen by the Maple Leafs, where he has played two games so far. The fact that he has now been placed on waivers likely confirms that he will not be returning to North America for training camp, at least not until things start up for the AHL. The 27-year-old forward has played in 19 NHL games over the years, all of them coming with the Anaheim Ducks. Last year he was limited by injury to just 12 appearances for the Toronto Marlies, meaning this season is something of a comeback for the former St. Cloud State star.

Dea meanwhile signed a two-year, one-way deal with the Sabres in 2019 but played just three NHL games with the team last season. With some new faces coming into Buffalo his chance to make the roster always seemed slim and this move likely confirms he will not be there when games start in a few weeks. The 26-year-old did have 39 points in 57 games for the Rochester Americans last season, so he would still be an asset to the AHL organization if minor league games get underway.

Both players will be available to the rest of the league, but neither seems likely to be claimed at this point.

Snapshots: Voluntary Opt-Out, Senators, Stepan, Schneider

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The first significant day of the NHL’s new calendar for the upcoming 2021 season is upon us as today is the deadline for NHL players to voluntarily opt-out of the season, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli.

If a player wants to opt-out of the season, they must provide written notice to the league seven days before training camp starts, which means that the deadline has already passed for the seven non-playoff teams which start their training camps on Thursday. However, the rest of the league has until the end of the day today, if they don’t want to participate in the upcoming season.

Waivers are next, with it beginning Monday for the new season.

  • With many teams struggling to move out salary this year without requiring to include a sweetener to get the deal done, there were quite a few people surprised when the Ottawa Senators took on the contract of Derek Stepan last night and instead of receiving some type of sweetener, sent a second-round pick to Arizona instead. Quite a high price to pay. However, Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch points out that the move is very Ottawa-like as Stepan might have a $6.5MM cap hit for the upcoming season, but is only due $2MM in salary, as the Coyotes have already paid Stepan a $3MM salary bonus. The Senators have been well known to take on players who have less salary to be paid out than their cap hit. This trade is one of them.
  • Speaking of Stepan, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun notes that there is going to be a bit of a delay for Stepan to report to training camp in Ottawa. Besides the 14-day quarantine that will require him to miss part of training camp, Stepan is also waiting for the pending birth of his child, meaning that the 30-year-old could very well miss the start of the regular season. LeBrun reports, however, that Stepan’s agent, Matt Oates, says that the veteran is excited about joining Ottawa’s team as a team leader and is eager to arrive.
  • The IIHF will have a disciplinary committee hearing regarding the illegal hit to the head by Team Canada’s Braden Schneider vs. Germany’s Jan-Luca Schumacher, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie. A decision is expected before Canada’s game vs. Slovakia later today. Schneider, a 2020 first-round pick of the New York Rangers, could be suspended, considering the IIHF has a no-tolerance policy on hits to the head. He was issued a game misconduct after the incident. McKenzie adds that Austria’s Philipp Wimmer is also expected to receive a hearing after his hit against USA’s Patrick Moynihan. UPDATE: Schneider received a one-game suspension for the hit, according to the IIHF.

Danil Yurtaykin Clears Unconditional Waivers

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Friday: Yurtakin cleared waivers, CapFriendly reports, paving the way for the Sharks to release him.

Thursday: The San Jose Sharks have placed Danil Yurtaykin on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination, according to CapFriendly. Yurtaykin had one year remaining on his entry-level contract but will become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow.

Signed out of the KHL in 2019, Yurtaykin played in four games for the Sharks during the 2019-20 campaign but spent most of his time in the minor leagues with the San Jose Barracuda. The 23-year-old winger was never drafted, but caught the eye of scouts when he scored 10 goals and 19 points for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv in 2018-19.

Since he wasn’t expected to be a full-time member of the Sharks NHL roster, terminating his contract makes a lot of sense for Yurtaykin. The AHL season is still clouded in uncertainty and he hasn’t played a competitive game since March. This will allow him to return to the KHL if he chooses, getting his hockey career back on track. Down the line, remember the name as a potential option for another NHL club.

Free Agent Profile: Andrew Hammond

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I know what you’re thinking. Andrew Hammond? Really? Other than the “Hamburglar” moniker, Hammond isn’t exactly a household name to NHL fans. In fact, Hammond hasn’t made an NHL appearance since 2017-18 and has just seven total appearances over the past four seasons. It’s been quite a while since Hammond heroically stole the Ottawa net and led the Senators to the postseason in 2014-15.

Yet, there’s a good case to be made that Hammond is the best available free agent goalie and there is no arguing that there isn’t still a considerable need for net depth around the NHL. The free agent market seems to be on hold right now as the league figures out its plans for this season, but when it picks back up Hammond is likely to be in demand.

Hammond, 32, is built for the 2020-21 season. The veteran goaltender can likely be slipped through waivers if his signing team so desires, but if injury spurns his recall, Hammond has both the NHL experience to jump into a backup role and has been a workhorse in the AHL for several years, ready for a condensed schedule and frequent appearances if need be. Hammond made 33 appearances for the Rochester Americans in the shortened 2019-20 season, the twelfth-most in the AHL. Hammond is also one of just seven netminders to have made 33+ appearances in each of the past two AHL seasons.

Among qualifying goaltenders, Hammond’s 2.53 GAA this past season ranked 13th in the AHL. It’s a pretty good ranking on its own, but consider that only one goalie with a better GAA played more minutes than Hammond last year and it puts his performance in perspective given his workload. Hammond’s .908 save percentage, while not among the AHL’s best, is a good number and has held steady for two seasons now as a stark improvement versus his AHL numbers earlier in his career.

When last Hammond was seen in the NHL, he was actually shocking many with his strong play as an emergency postseason call-up for the Colorado Avalanche in 2017-18. Hammond played three playoff games after making just one regular season appearance, yet posted a stellar .933 save percentage with a 2.62 GAA. While a small sample size, if this is what Hammond can do at the NHL level then he is even more valuable than it seems. For a larger sample size, look back at the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons with Ottawa, the only time in his career that Hammond was given a regular NHL role. In 48 games over two years, Hammond recorded an outstanding .927 save percentage and 2.21 GAA, as well as a .705 quality start percentage. Admittedly, that was five years ago now, but Hammond’s NHL numbers speak for themselves.

Still, Hammond can’t be the best free agent goalie option available, can he? Well, only four UFA keepers saw NHL action last season: Craig Anderson, Jimmy Howard, Ryan Miller, and Cory Schneider. Anderson, Howard, and Miller each made over 20 appearances last season, but didn’t exactly inspire their respective teams to give them any more play time than necessary. Of the 57 NHL goalies who made at least 20 appearances last year, Howard finished dead last in both save percentage and goals against average; Anderson ranked 47th and 55th and Miller came in at 37th and 47th, respectively. These poor performances marked a steep drop-off for Howard and Miller, while this is the third year in a row with ugly numbers for Anderson. Age is also a troubling number shared by all; Anderson and Miller are 39 and Howard is 36. Given their ages and stats, Anderson and Howard appear done. Miller may have enough left for one more run, but his value as a free agent is limited given his desire to play only with a team near his home in Southern California. As for Schneider, he played in 13 games and posted numbers comparable to Howard’s. Schneider, 34, has faced problems with injuries and inconsistency for several years now. He is nothing more than a dart throw at this point – and according to some sources there is a handshake agreement between he and the New York Islanders, who appear willing to toss that dart at a potential veteran No. 3. Even if Schneider is available or if Miller is willing to move on from the Anaheim Ducks, do any of these aging options inspire more hope than an established AHL starter with strong NHL numbers in Hammond?

Potential Suitors

There is no shortage of teams in need of a goalie before the 2020-21 season, including the aforementioned Ducks and Islanders. Anaheim especially currently counts just starter John Gibson and presumptive backup Anthony Stolarz as NHL options, with only recent draft picks as their other signed goalies. While Stolarz is younger than Hammond and has more recent NHL experience, the two share similar career AHL stats with Hammond having an edge in the NHL. Hammond could prove to be an upgrade over Stolarz as Gibson’s backup, if not just a sold third-string option at a shallow position. There is also the matter of the impending Expansion Draft and Anaheim needing a goalie signed beyond this season to expose, making Hammond an even more likely fit. In New York, depth is an extreme concern beyond the NHL tandem, with only one other goalie signed in young Jakub Skarek. Even if the Islanders do sign Schneider, it may not hurt to add Hammond as well given Schneider’s injury concerns and not wanting to rush Skarek into a workhorse AHL role.

Elsewhere, Hammond could compete for an NHL role with the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Blackhawks have maintained that they are content with an unproven trio of Collin Delia, Malcolm Subban, and Kevin Lankinen competing for both NHL spots as they begin a rebuild. However, things could turn south quickly with that group and an experienced goaltender in Hammond could be valuable. Even if Hammond doesn’t make the ’Hawks out of camp, the team could use some dependability in their depth chart. Similarly, the Penguins claim that they are happy to go into next season with Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith in net. Jarry put up great numbers last season, but has never had a true starter’s workload in the NHL. DeSmith meanwhile did not see any NHL action last season and was outplayed in the AHL by Hammond. The Penguins have okay depth, including UFA addition Maxime Lagace, but could alleviate the risk of their untested NHL tandem or at the very least upgrade at No. 3 with Hammond.

Options where Hammond would only be asked to serve in a third-string role (at the outset), but where that could still turn into a key position, include the Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks, or a return to an old home with the Colorado Avalanche. The Oilers and Sharks impressed no one with their off-season changes in net; Edmonton struck out with top free agents and re-signed Mike Smith to play alongside Mikko Koskinen, while San Jose decided the way to help severely struggling starter Martin Jones was to acquire an equally struggling netminder in Devan Dubnyk. Both teams have decent depth in the minors and may be content to lean on young options if their NHL tandem fails, but if either one hopes to be a contender this season they need a No. 3 who can push for top level opportunity and Hammond could fit the bill. At this point in time, it’s anyone’s guess whether any of Smith, Koskinen, Jones, or Dubnyk are actually better goaltenders than Hammond. As for Vancouver and Colorado, both teams are set with a solid duo in the NHL, but injuries are a concern and each is sorely lacking a proven option in the AHL. For two top contenders from this past season, depth is key and Hammond would look awfully nice as a third-string fallback.

Projected Contract

The contract question for Hammond is not so much NHL salary, but AHL salary. Given the cap crunch climate, Hammond is not getting any more than the $700K league minimum salary, even if he could work his way into a regular NHL role worth far more. The question is whether he can get a one-way deal, as he did last year with the Buffalo Sabres, and have that NHL salary guaranteed in the minors or if he will have to settle for a two-way deal, as he did two years ago with the Minnesota Wild. The cap implications are the same and Hammond’s decision will likely come down to fit and opportunity over salary anyhow, so the signing team’s current financial status will likely determine one-way versus two-way. Given the potential competition for his services though, Hammond may have a number of good options and a one-way offer could be the deciding factor.

As alluded to with the Ducks, don’t rule out a two-year deal either. While a one-year term is more likely, teams will be cognizant of their Expansion Draft requirements and how training camp waivers could change the status quo as well, which could lead to Hammond landing some two-year offers to serve as Kraken bait next summer.

 

Snapshots: Barzal, Timashov, Davidsson

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The New York Islanders locked up one of their key restricted free agents today when they agreed on a new two-year contract with Ryan Pulock, but still have one big item on their offseason to-do list. That’s a new contract for Mathew Barzal, who is a restricted free agent without arbitration rights and is in line for a huge raise.

Perhaps not as big as one might expect though. Pulock, speaking to reporters today including Andrew Gross of Newsday, explained that he and Barzal have spoken throughout the offseason and are trying to take deals that work for them and the Islanders, in the hopes that their current core can stay together. Still, it’s not like Pulock took a huge discount on his deal, which walks him straight to free agency at age-27 and carries a $5MM AAV. Barzal, who led the Islanders with 60 points during the regular season, is arguably the most important skater on the team and should command quite the salary.

Tyler Johnson Clears Waivers

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Saturday: Johnson has cleared waivers, Friedman reports.

Friday: The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed Tyler Johnson on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The window for buying a contract out has passed, meaning this is not for that purpose. Instead, this is likely the Lightning trying to find a team that will take on Johnson’s entire deal, even for free.

Johnson, 30, has four years remaining on his contract and carries a $5MM cap hit, but notably also has a full no-trade clause. Though he extended a list to the Lightning that he would accept a deal to, this is one way for the Lightning to get around that. A team that wants Johnson could simply claim him off waivers, which he has no control over.

Still, it’s a lot of money for any team to take on even without giving up an asset in return. Johnson scored 31 points this season, but was underwhelming in the Stanley Cup run with just seven postseason points.

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